Apple earnings top expectations: Mac sales up 17 Pct

By IBT Staff Reporter On 10/19/09 AT 4:51 PM

Apple reported better than expected fourth quarter earnings on Monday after the closing bell, sending shares up 7 percent in after hours trading.

The Cupertino, California-based computing and electronics company posted a net profit of $1.67 billion, or $1.82 a share, in its fiscal fourth quarter ended September 26, up from $1.14 billion, or $1.26 a share, in the year-ago period.

Gross margin was 36.6 percent, up from 34.7 percent in the year-ago quarter.

“We are thrilled to have sold more Macs and iPhones than in any previous quarter,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We’ve got a very strong lineup for the holiday season and some really great new products in the pipeline for 2010.”

In terms of product sales, Apple sold 3.05 million Mac computers during the quarter, 17 percent increase over the year-ago quarter.